Weaving, spinning and general happy fibrery goodness from the Far North of Scotland

Tag Archives: notebook

I really thought I’d blogged about this, but clearly only in my mind, as I can’t find it anywhere. Sigh.

Ok, so one of my ‘goals’ (this is a very loose term, more a mild proclivity towards) for 2016 was to spin 100m of 2ply from 100g of fibre. In November, I realised that if I was going to do this then I really should get on with it.

So I found this beautiful top from Fiber Artemis, a blend of merino and silk and got spinning

Photo courtesy of Fiber Artemis

It was a joy to work with, as you can imagine, and I tried to maintain the gradient so spun each braid (I had two) as they came, from one end to the other, then plied and ended up with this

1146m and 108g; the gradient would probably look a whole lot better if I caked it but I prefer to keep my yarn in skeins until I use them.

Another thing I did for 2016 was keep a spinning record; just a basic one of how long each final plied skein is and what it weighs.

My total for the year is20,800m!!

That’s plied yarn. It included silk, flax, cotton, quviut, angora, cashmere, alpaca, soy and plain old wool. I tried several new techniques (part of my Tour de Fleece challenge) like corespun, wrapped and beehives as well as wheel spinning, learning how to use support spindles and the occasional plying on a Turkish.

What an amazing year it’s been! I’m so fortunate to be able to work with such beautiful fibre and equipment.

My ideas for 2017 include continuing with the Beekeeper’s Quilt (it’s going well), as well as some more spinning goals. I’m going to stay with the recording and try and up it a little. I’ve ordered a notebook where I plan to keep more information including a sample of the finished yarn; I’d like to improve my techniques too so I’m looking into attempting a Certificate of Excellence via the American Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers.

It will need a huge improvement in my skills, but it looks like it’ll be fun to try for. We’ll see..

I’m also planning to try some mosaic knitting; if you’re not familiar with it, it’s a colourwork technique that uses slipped stitches to create a beautifully complex effect with not much complexity involved. The pattern I’m considering is this and I have some yarn that’ll work perfectly.

Which brings me to my final and scariest goal. To abstain from buying yarn or fibre online. I have a huge stash and want to see how I can work through it. If I go to something like the Edinburgh Yarn Fest (highly likely!), then it’s ok to spend spend spend there. But otherwise not. This is truly terrifying so I’m taking it one day at a time tee hee. I’m not someone who berates themselves for not stitching to goals or plans so everything is always subject to change.

Have a very happy New Year and thank you taking precious time to read my ramblings.